Prom Night
by bluestreaker14
Summary: based on the movie. It was the night they’ve all been waiting for. They spent months preparing for this night. When it comes, they never want it to end. But an unexpected guest is about to put a sudden halt on their plans. rating may go up.
1. Trailer

**ok, i'm TOTALLY excited about seeing this new movie!! i'm going to see the premiere of it with, like, 20 of my friends!! lol! it's gonna be awesome!!  
ok, anyways, i'm so anxious about seeing this movie that i just HAD to make a story based on it!! obviously, i haven't seen it yet so not everything is going to be, like, perfect but the plot and characters and stuff like that is the same!!  
so this is the trailer!! hope you like it and PLEASE review!! i'm working on the first chapter right now so it should be out soon!!**

My life was perfect

_Shows Gabriella with all her friends_

I had the perfect family

_Shows Gabriella's parents_

The perfect friends

_Shows Gabriella with Taylor and Sharpay_

The perfect boyfriend

_Shows Troy give Gabriella a bouquet of flowers. Gabriella smiles sweetly as she takes them_

Until…

_Shows Gabriella turn around and scream_

_**Screen goes black**_

I was stalked

_Shows Gabriella cautiously glancing out her bedroom window_

By a teacher from my high school

"_He's scaring me!" Gabriella cries_

I couldn't leave my own home! I knew he was waiting for me

_Shows a shadowy figure sneaky around outside_

He left me messages on Myspace

_Shows Gabriella sitting at her computer. She looks at her comments._

'_I'm coming to get you.'_

_Gabriella slowly lifts her head and a hand clamps over her mouth._

_**Screen goes black**_

But that was three years ago

"_He's locked away. He's not going to hurt you," a therapist tells Gabriella, who sighs._

Things are a lot better

_Shows Troy wrap his arms around Gabriella from behind, hugging her tightly. He places his head on her shoulder and she sets her hands on his arms._

I've got nothing to worry about

_Shows Gabriella come out of a dressing room, wearing a gorgeous white halter top dress. Sharpay and Taylor shriek._

"_Chica, you look hot!" Sharpay cries._

_Gabriella smiles._

Except senior prom!

"_Will you go to prom with me?" Troy asks._

"_You know you don't even have to ask. There's no one I'd rather go to prom with," Gabriella replies and she wraps her arms around Troy's neck, hugging him._

We were super excited!

"_Oh my god! We're here!" Taylor cries._

_The girls scream excitedly as they pull into the parking lot of the beautiful Lava Springs Hotel and Resort._

_Shows quick flashes of the gorgeous hotel._

And everything was going as planned

"_Oh…"_

"_My…"_

"_GOD!"_

_-_

_The group of friends dance together, having the time of their lives._

_-_

_Shows Troy and Gabriella approach a desk._

"_One card for suite 523," Troy says._

_-_

_Shows the two kissing on the bed in the suite_

But then…

"_And our new prom king and queen are…" The teacher begins to open the envelope._

_Gabriella grips Troy's hand, her heart pounding in excitement. Troy smiles down at her._

_Suddenly, the lights go out. People scream._

He came back

"_Anyone here?" Gabriella calls, looking around the suite. "Troy!"_

_She hears something behind her. She whips around. Nothing._

"_Troy!"_

_A dark figure appears behind her._

"_TROY!"_

_A low, creepy voice whispers, "Gabi…"_

_**Screen goes black**_

"_I've missed you."_

_-_

"_Where is she!" a detective demands into the phone._

"_Her prom," the man on the other end replies._

"_He's escaped!"_

_Shows Gabriella running down a hallway._

"_Find her and GET HER OUT!"_

**She thought her nightmare was over**

"_He's gone, Gabi. There's nothing left you need to worry about," Troy assures, running his hand through her hair. She smiles._

**But it's only just beginning**

"_No! Stay back!" Gabriella screams as she backs up. A man carrying a blade slowly approaches her._

_-_

"_He won't stop until they're all dead!" the detective says. "I need backup! Now!"_

_-_

"_Troy! I can't find Taylor!" Chad yells._

"_Dude, Gabriella's missing!" Troy says._

_Chad freezes._

_-_

_Shows Zeke looking around a suite. "Sharpay?" he calls._

_Suddenly, two hands clamp around his neck._

_**Screen goes black**_

_Shows Gabriella hiding in a closet. She glances through the crack in the closet door. She lets out a squeak when she sees the shadow of someone outside. She places a hand over her mouth to quiet her heavy breathing. She turns back around and sees a body. She screams._

**Prom Night**

"_I'm coming to get you."_

"_TROY!"_

"_GABRIELLA!"_

_A hand grabs onto her hair. She screams._

**Coming soon to FanFiction**


	2. The Horror Begins

**alright, well, first off, i'm not too happy about the way this had turned out. i thought it was going great until i went back and read everything! lol! but this is only the beginning when everything kinda just turns completely wrong for Gabriella!! lol!  
ok, i saw Prom Night last night with a bunch of my friends and i thought it was AMAZING!! omg, i loved it!! i was screaming and crying and jumping and all that good stuff! if you haven't seen it yet, i suggest you go see it!! it was awesome!!  
now that i've seen the movie, i can make this story seem more like the movie. so after i saw it, i had to go in and fix a bunch of stuff in this chapter and the first part of the second chapter that i have written!! i spent, like, 20 minutes just fixing everything!! lol! but it's all good now!!  
as for this chapter, hope you like it!! if not, just say so!! hehe!**

**Disclaimer: _first off, i hate these things!! lol! how could a 14 year old girl who can barely afford my own phone possibly own HSM or Prom Night!? oh, but i promise you this; one day, i will own Zac Efron!! haha! i just have to figure out how i'm gonna do that!! lol!_**

2005

15-year-old Gabriella Montez walked into East High for the first time. Her best friends Taylor McKessie and Sharpay Evans stood on her right, her boyfriend of the past week Troy Bolton on her left.

"I can't believe we're in high school!" Sharpay squealed as she rushed forward and looked around.

"Already I can sense we're gonna be dubbed as the losers," Gabriella whispered to Troy, who chuckled and took hold of her hand.

"You never know!" Chad Danforth exclaimed, appearing behind the two. Gabriella jumped in surprise.

"Don't do that!" she shrieked, slapping his arm.

"Not my fault you're a wimp."

Gabriella began chasing Chad around the hallway, making their friends laugh and other people stare.

Zeke Baylor and Jason Cross appeared as did Sharpay's twin brother, Ryan.

"What's going on?" Zeke asked.

"Chad something stupid. Gabi got mad. She started chasing him," Troy replied simply.

"So nothing new?"

"Not really."

The group laughed as Gabriella continued chasing Chad.

Two Months Later

Gabriella sat in her science class, taking notes off the board. Her teacher, Mr. Lynch, was walking up and down the aisles, looking over his students' notes. He stopped for a moment at Gabriella's desk, staring down at her. Gabriella looked up at him.

"Um…something wrong, Mr. Lynch?" she asked.

"No, no, everything's perfect," he replied. He walked away and Gabriella heard him say, "Just perfect."

Gabriella felt a shiver run down her spine. She shook it off and got back to work.

Once class ended, she rushed out of the room and down the hall to Troy's locker. She spotted her boyfriend putting books into his locker.

"Troy!" she called.

Troy turned and smiled when he saw her approaching. "Hey, Gabs. What's up?" he greeted.

"Does My. Lynch seem kind of odd to you?" Gabriella asked.

"That's kind of a random question," Troy chuckled.

"Troy, I'm serious."

Troy stopped laughing and looked at her. "You're really freaked, aren't you?" he questioned.

"He's scaring me!" Gabriella cried.

"Hey, calm down. There's nothing to get all worked up about," Troy said.

Gabriella sighed. "It's just…he's kinda creeping my out," she admitted.

Troy sighed and took Gabriella's hand. "Trust me. Everything's fine," he said.

Gabriella smiled and hugged Troy. He hugged back.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," she whispered.

Troy smiled and held her even tighter.

Two Months Later

Gabriella walked into her room after a long, boring day of school. She decided to unwind by heading onto Myspace. She sat at her computer and logged on. She had a few new friends invites, some comments, and new photo comments. She decided to check the friends invites first. There was only one. It was from someone she didn't even know. She checked out their page and found it rather creepy. There were no pictures. The layout was what looked like killing. The layout reminded her of blood and murder. And it scared her.

Gabriella went back to her friends invites and denied his invite. Once that was out of the way, she checked her new picture comments. There were a couple on a picture of her and Troy. They were laying on his bed and he held the camera up above them. One was from Taylor, one from Sharpay, and one from that creepy dude.

_Taylor: Sexy, girlie! lol! jk! you two are SUPES cute!!_

Gabriella giggled. Count on Taylor.

_Sharpay: i agree with Tay Bay. you two couldn't be cuter!! luv ya babe!! and tell Troy Boy i luv him and his sexay ass!! lol! you know i'm just kidding!!_

Gabriella shook her head. Only Sharpay would say that her best friend's boyfriend has a sexy ass.

Now on to the creepy man's message.

_I'm much better for you than Troy is, Gabriella._

Gabriella's heart raced. That man knew her name. Her name wasn't on her profile. And neither was Troy's. Slightly scared, she deleted the comment and moved on to her page comments.

There was one from Chad, a couple from Troy, and that creeper was back.

_Chad: hey Gabster!! i need my baby sis over here! homework help! call me!! PLEASE!!_

_Troy: hey Gabi bear! just wondering if you wanna catch a movie! call me later!! or text! whatever works for you! lol!_

_Troy: ok you gotta call the cell! b-ball practice and dad's freaking cuz we're already late! haha! practice ends at 6 so maybe we could catch a flick at 6:30! sound good? call me, Gabi bear!!_

Gabriella smiled at the little nickname Troy had given her so many years ago when they were really little. And no one else was allowed to call her that.

Now she came to the creepy man's comment. And it scared her.

_I'm coming to get you._

She straightened up and suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth.

Gabriella let out an ear-piercing scream as a blade was placed near her throat.

"I'm coming to get you," the man whispered in her ear.

Her eyes widened. She knew that voice.

She tried screaming but it came out as a muffled noise. The man dragged her downstairs. When they reached the kitchen, Mrs. Montez looked up and screamed at the sight.

The man shoved Gabriella onto the ground and lunged at Mrs. Montez. Quickly, Gabriella called 911. When someone answered, she squeaked out, "Help," before hanging up. They'd come. She knew they would.

The next thing she knew, the man was running the blade over her mother's throat. Gabriella screamed.

The man's head snapped up and he looked at her. He pushed off of Mrs. Montez and began walking towards Gabriella.

"No, no, no…please don't," she begged quietly, crawling backwards away from him. Tears poured down her face at the sight of her mother's dead body.

"Please! Don't!"

The man stood above her.

"I'm begging you!"

He raised the knife above his head.

"NO!"

"FREEZE!"

The knife came down. Gabriella screamed. A gunshot went off. Something heavy fell. Shouting rang in the young girl's ears. Then everything went black.

One Week Later

Gabriella stirred awake and her eyes were met by blinding white. She squinted and looked around. She was in a hospital room. Troy, Chad, Taylor, Sharpay, Ryan, Zeke, Jason, and Kelsi were all asleep in chairs around her bed. She giggled at how some of them were sleeping.

Sharpay was on the floor, leaning against Troy's legs. Taylor had her head on Sharpay's lap. Kelsi and Jason's heads were leaning against each other's, which, to Gabriella, looked incredibly uncomfortable. Chad had his head on Troy's shoulder and Troy's head was buried in Chad's puff of hair. They all just looked really funny.

"Guys," Gabriella choked out. When they didn't wake up, she looked around and found a pen sitting on the bedside table. She picked it up and threw it. It hit Troy square in the forehead. He jolted awake and rubbed his forehead.

"Gabi!"

Troy stood up, not even caring that Sharpay and Chad had been leaning against him. Sharpay woke up, jumping forward, causing Taylor to wake up and Chad woke up as well. The three saw Gabriella awake and they all yelled, "Gabi!" causing the others to wake up. They all rushed over and stood around her bed. Troy took her hand and gently stroked it with his thumb. Everyone else fired one question after another at her.

"GUYS!"

Everyone immediately shut up. But their eyes didn't leave Gabriella.

"Gabs, you ok?" Chad asked, stroking her hair gently.

Gabriella blinked a few times, trying to think back. Suddenly, everything came crashing back to her. Her mother was dead. She was murdered. And she knew who the murderer was. He tried to kill her. That's why she was here.

"No, no, no…NO!"

Everyone jumped back.

"Gabi, sweetie, what's wrong?" Taylor asked worryingly.

"My mom…she's…I could've saved her…but…no!"

"Gabi, no. It wasn't your fault. You did nothing wrong. There wasn't anything you could do," Troy stated.

Gabriella wiped her eyes. "I need my Mama," she whimpered.

Troy pulled her into a tight hug. She sobbed onto his shoulder.

"It's ok, Gabi. He's gone now. Everything's fine," Troy soothed.

"I'm scared," Gabriella admitted.

"Why?"

Gabriella glanced down at the bandaged that was wrapped tightly around her upper arm. "He's coming to get me."

"What are you talking about? He's locked away," Chad stated.

Gabriella didn't answer. She simply looked around the hospital room. "Where's my daddy?" she asked.

The group didn't respond. They glanced at each other but remained silence.

Gabriella looked up at Troy. "Troy…where's my daddy?"

Troy looked down at her, a sad expression on his face.

"Troy! Answer me!"

"They found his body stuffed in the hallway closet," Troy replied. "I'm sorry, Gabi Bear. He's gone."

-

A police officer led Gabriella along with Mr. Bolton into a small, concrete room. There was a separate room where Mr. Lynch sat. Gabriella looked at him through a window.

"Is that him?" the officer asked, gently placing a hand on Gabriella's back.

"Gabriella, you came back to me," Lynch said rather hoarsely.

"That's him," Gabriella choked.

"Don't do this, Gabriella," Lynch stated.

Tears came to Gabriella's eyes and she looked away from him.

Detective James Samuels sat in the room with Lynch. "Lynch, stop," he warned.

"No! I won't leave her. I'm all she has now," Lynch whispered.

"Is that why you killed her family? Because you thought we'd give her to you?" Detective Samuels asked.

"We love each other," Lynch said firmly.

Gabriella began sobbing. "Can I go now?" she asked. It seemed like people were ignoring her. No one said anything.

Mr. Bolton began talking to the officer, asking if he could take Gabriella home now.

"We'll always be together," Lynch continued.

"Please. I want to go now." Gabriella began sobbing even harder.

"Don't cry, Gabi. I won't be gone for long."

"PLEASE!"

"Oh you'll be gone for a _long_ time, Lynch," Detective Samuels stated as he handcuffed Lynch.

Hearing Gabriella scream, Mr. Bolton immediately wrapped his arms around Gabriella.

"I wanna go home," Gabriella cried.

Mr. Bolton rubbed her back. "I know. We're going," he whispered.

Gabriella looked back at Lynch. He was staring at her.

Mr. Bolton placed his hand behind her head and gently turned her head around. "Come on, sweetie. Let's get you home," he said and he led her away.

"We'll be together soon enough, Gabriella!"

"Ok, would you shut up!?"

**there ya go!! hope you liked it!! took my a while to make sure everything fit!! lol! don't ask!! just review!! please!! gracias!! (i'm taking Spanish!! bear with me on that one!! lol!)**


	3. Preparing an Escape

**ok, i decided to upload the second chapter cuz i wanted to get the story going! this chapter, i feel, is a LOT better than the last one!! more drama kind of crap! lol! hope you like it!!**

**Disclaimer:_ ya'll read the last chapter right? lol! i'm still working on the Zac Efron part. anyone wanna hear the plan i have so far? no? didn't think so! lol!_**

2008

Gabriella sat down in a chair in a therapist's office. The therapist, Doctor Fletcher, sat down in the chair across from Gabriella.

"So, Gabriella, have you been feeling any better?" she asked.

Gabriella shrugged. "I still have nightmares," she admitted.

"That's normal. Gabriella, you had to sit there and witness your mother's death and there was nothing you could do. And then he turned to you and tried to kill you. At such a young age, that will leave quite a mark on your life," Doctor Fletcher explained.

"Will it ever go away?" Gabriella questioned.

Doctor Fletcher sighed. "Honestly, I don't think so," she replied.

Gabriella groaned and leaned her head back.

"But Gabi, I just want you to remember that he's locked away. He's not going to hurt you," Doctor Fletcher reminded.

Gabriella bit her bottom lip and looked out the window at the wonderful summer scenery of Albuquerque.

* * *

Detective Samuels sat at his desk, looking over the files of a psycho killer they'd had locked in a psych ward for the past three years.

'Name: Adam Lynch

Age: 43

Sex: Male

Criminal history: None'

"Morning, Samuels," a man with short, dark brown hair and a scruffy beard and mustache greeted as he entered the office.

"That's Detective Samuels to you, Johnson" the detective corrected without looking up.

"What're you up to?" the man by the name of Alex Johnson asked.

"Eh, just checking over this psycho's file," Samuels replied, skimming through the file.

"What psycho?" Johnson asked.

"This high school teacher became obsessed with a female freshman at the school," Samuels explained. "He went psycho because he knew he couldn't have her. He broke into her house and attempted to kidnap her. He killed her parents and then came after her. That's when police showed up. Aside from a small gash in her right arm, she was fine. It's the emotional trauma we have to keep an eye on."

"And the psycho?"

"Been under extreme security for years. The girl's a senior now. We keep a very close eye on her."

"You think she's in any sort of danger?"

"As long as we keep Lynch locked up, she's fine."

* * *

Gabriella left the therapist's office an hour later and found her boyfriend's Audi waiting in the parking lot. She climbed in on the passenger's side, closed the door, and relaxed.

"Rough appointment?" came her boyfriend's voice as he took hold of her hand.

"Could've been better," Gabriella replied, opening her eyes and looking over at Troy.

Troy brought her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. "How 'bout we go get some ice cream," he suggested, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

Gabriella smiled. He always knew exactly how to cheer her up. Ice cream.

"Sound perfect," she replied.

Troy smiled, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot. The car ride was silent. Gabriella stared out the window, thinking.

"What's on your mind, babe?" Troy questioned as he turned into the parking lot of Dairy Queen.

"Doctor Fletcher said I probably will never get rid of the nightmares," Gabriella replied.

Troy looked at her. "So you have to deal with that for the rest of your life?" he asked.

"Yeah. Hope you don't mind waking up in the middle of the night because I wake up screaming," Gabriella stated with a giggle.

Troy laughed and they got out of the car. He took her hand, lacing their fingers together, and they walked inside.

"So, what do you want?" he asked as they stood in line.

"I want a cookie dough Blizzard!" Gabriella squealed.

Troy chuckled. "Cookie dough Blizzard it is."

They came to the counter and Troy ordered two cookie dough Blizzards. Once he paid for them, they found an empty table and sat down.

"Troy, you'll always be here to protect me, right?" Gabriella asked without looking up.

Troy looked at her in confusion. "Of course I will. Why would you ask something like that?" he questioned

Gabriella shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I'm just always afraid he might come back," she replied.

"Gabi–" Troy took her hand – "you don't need to worry. He's locked away for good. And I'll always be here for you. No matter what."

Gabriella smiled, stood up, and sat down on Troy's lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I love you," she whispered as she played with his hair.

Troy smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close. "I love you too, baby."

They kissed tenderly.

Once the two finished their ice cream, they left Dairy Queen and Troy drove Gabriella home. He pulled into her driveway.

"You sure you're ok? You seem pretty spooked," Troy stated.

Gabriella looked at him. "No, I'm fine. Don't worry," she replied. She leaned over, gave him a quick peck on the lips, and climbed out of his car.

"Thanks, Troy."

"No prob, babe. See ya tomorrow."

"Bye."

Gabriella closed the door and Troy pulled away.

The wind whistled, blowing through the trees. Branches cracked. Gabriella's head whipped around. She stared into the darkness. Her body trembled in fear. "Troy," she whimpered. Of course, Troy was already far from her house, and that small whimper could barely be heard by herself, let alone Troy.

Finally finding feeling in her legs once again, she darted into her house, slammed the door closed, locked it, and leaned against it, breathing heavily.

"Gabi?"

Gabriella screamed and whipped her head to the right. Her Uncle David and Aunt Julie walked over to her.

"Sweetheart, you ok?" her uncle asked worryingly, tucking a strand of hair behind Gabriella's ear.

Gabriella took a deep breath and nodded.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Just a little spooked is all."

"Ok then. You hungry at all?" Aunt Julie questioned.

"Nah. I'm just gonna head to bed." Gabriella replied.

She started walking towards the stairs.

"Ok. I'll leave something in the fridge in case you get hungry later," Uncle David stated as he and Aunt Julie headed back into the kitchen.

"Thanks," Gabriella said before walking upstairs to her room. She opened her bedroom door and the warm summer breeze met her face. She realized she'd left her balcony doors open. She crossed the room and closed the doors, making sure it was locked.

Gabriella headed over to her drawers and pulled out a pair of pajama pants and a tank top. As she was changing, her phone rang.

"Hello?" she answered as she pulled her pants up.

"Hey baby. You sure you're ok?" came Troy's worried voice.

Gabriella smiled lightly. "Yeah. I'm fine," she replied.

"Cause if you're not, I'm happy to come over."

"Are you just saying that so you can sleep with me?"

"No," he replied lamely.

"You're terrible at lying. See ya in ten," Gabriella said and she hung up, hearing Troy chuckle on the other end as she did so. She walked over to her balcony doors and unlocked them so Troy could come in.

She laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes began drooping. She was incredibly tired. She closed her eyes.

The sound of branches cracking and leaves shuffling could be heard in the distance. The trees whipped around as a strong wind picked up. Branches tapped against Gabriella's windows. Then there came a different tapping. A slow tapping was coming from the balcony doors. Gabriella figured it was Troy so she didn't move. The balcony doors creaked open and closed shut. Footsteps coming towards her bed. Then they stopped. Gabriella could sense someone standing over her. She just knew it was Troy now. She smiled.

"I'm coming to get you."

Gabriella's eyes snapped open. She screamed.

Lynch.

And then she woke up.

She shot up in bed, breathing heavily. She felt an arm draped over her waist. Her hand shot over her mouth to keep from screaming and she looked over cautiously. Now it was Troy who was there.

"Troy," she whimpered and she laid back down. She crawled into his arms. His grip on her tightened and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Hey, baby," he greeted with a smile.

"Troy." Gabriella pushed her face into his chest and began crying.

"Whoa. Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?" he asked, quickly sitting up.

"He came back. I thought he was you. But…" Gabriella began crying even harder.

"Shhhh…" Troy pulled her back into a hug and held her tightly. "It's ok, Gabi Bear. He's gone, remember? He's not gonna hurt you."

"How do you know? How do you know he's not gonna escape and come after me?" Gabriella demanded.

"Because I just do. And even if that were to happen, I wouldn't let him anywhere near you. You know that. I'll always be here to protect you. No matter what. I promise you that. I love you, Gabi Bear," Troy promised.

Gabriella smiled. "I love you too, Troy."

They laid back down and Troy held tightly onto Gabriella as they both fell asleep.

* * *

Julie Rivera was the sister of Roberto Montez. She married David Rivera at the age of 22. Her brother had been 24 and his baby girl, Gabriella, had been a beautiful little infant at the time. Roberto's wife, Maria, had held the baby in her arms, smiling lovingly at her. Years flew by and Gabriella grew more beautiful everyday. On her first day of high school, she'd grown into a gorgeous young woman. Not that that had given that psycho killer any reason to suddenly become obsessed with her.

When Julie had heard of her brother and sister-in-law's death, the first thing that came to her mind was Gabriella. She was only 14. No child should lose their parents at the age when they need them the most. When she found out who had killed them, she was filled with fear and worry. She and David immediately took Gabriella into their home.

For nearly two years, Gabriella woke up in the middle of the night, screaming. Most of the time, she slept in her aunt and uncle's room. Her friends and her boyfriend were always over, trying to calm her. Sometimes, they spent the night, even on school nights, just to keep her calm. At the age of 17, they allowed Troy to start spending the night. Soon after that, the dreams stopped all together. Her friends weren't over as much. She never woke up screaming. She slowly returned to a normal teenager. But there were still pictures in her mind.

Those memories were the things that wouldn't fade. She may have gotten rid of the dreams but seeing her mother die would leave her, no matter what. Sometimes, that's what made her scream.

Recently, the dreams returned. The therapist and doctor said that it was because of her graduation and the very big transition from high school to college that the dreams came back. They said a big transition like that could cause emotions to run high and trigger those old memories. So the screaming returned. But Gabriella never came into her aunt and uncle's room anymore. She felt like she was too old for that. So a lot of the time, one of them came to check on her. She'd either be curled up on her bed, crying, or shaking uncontrollably. It all depended on how bad the dream had been.

So when Julie heard Gabriella scream, she climbed out of bed, slipped her robe and slippers on, and headed down the hallway to her room. She slowly opened the door.

"Gabi?"

She poked her head inside and smiled. No crying. No shaking. No terrified Gabriella. She was asleep, Troy holding onto her so tightly, it seemed nothing could ever possibly get her away from him.

It amazed Julie that two young people could be that much in love. But they were. And she knew that as long as Troy was there, there was really nothing she needed to be afraid of. Gabriella would be fine.

She closed the door and went back to bed.

-

"Ok! Time for school! Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!"

Troy and Gabriella jumped, both waking up.

"Uncle David!" Gabriella whined, turning away from the bright sunlight that was streaming through the windows.

David chuckled and banged the pot he had even louder. Troy and Gabriella covered their ears.

"Come on! Come on! Come on! Time for school! Lots to do today! Gotta get ready for prom!"

Gabriella and Troy shot up. Prom! Their prom was tomorrow! Today was the day they did nothing except get everything ready for it. They'd be running back and forth from East High to the Lava Springs Hotel and Resort, setting everything up for tomorrow night. And then tomorrow, they didn't even have to go to school.

Gabriella loved being a senior.

-

Detective Samuels sat in his office, reading the morning paper while drinking his coffee.

"Sir, I have something for you," Officer Johnson stated as he entered the office. He set a fax onto the detective's desk.

Detective Samuels looked at it and his heart beat quickened.

"Damn it," he hissed as he picked up his phone. "Hi, this is Detective James Samuels of the Albuquerque Police Department. I'm calling about a fax I just received about an escaped prisoner by the name of Adam Lynch."

"Yes, Detective, he escaped about three days ago," the officer on the other end replied.

"It takes you three fucking days to fax me this news!?" Detective Samuels shouted.

"I'm sorry, sir. We'd sent out a search team to see if we could locate him first," the officer explained.

"Damn it, man! I've got the girl this psycho is after!"

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know."

Detective Samuels slammed the phone down on the receiver.

"Where was Lynch kept?" Officer Johnson questioned.

"He was over 1,000 miles away in some psych ward in New York," Detective Samuels replied.

"Do you think he'll come this way?"

"If he wants Miss Montez enough, he might."

-

"Oh yeah! I rock!"

Chad did a back flip off the stage at the Lava Springs Hotel and Resort that was set up in the party room. His friends rolled their eyes at him.

"Chad, just don't hurt yourself!" their teacher, Mrs. Montgomery yelled with a smile.

"I'm not gonna hurt myself!" Chad yelled back. He tried doing a cartwheel and as he came up, he hit a speaker. "Ow!"

"I warned you!" Mrs. Montgomery stated.

"I warned you," Chad mimicked under his breath as he pushed himself up.

Mrs. Montgomery chuckled and went to help some of the football players carry more speakers inside.

-

Troy and Zeke hauled the DJ table out of the back of Zeke's dad's car. They set it down on the ground.

"Damn, this thing is heavy," Troy complained as he closed the trunk of the car. Mr. Baylor smiled at the two before pulling out of the parking lot and heading back to East High to pick up more stuff.

"Come on. We gotta get this thing inside," Zeke stated.

Troy sighed before lifting it up and the two boys carried it inside.

-

Gabriella and Sharpay were stuck at school, helping to carry things out of East High and into the parking lot where cars were waiting to deliver it to Lava Springs Hotel, which just happened to be owned by Sharpay's grandparents.

"How'd you convince your grandparents to let us have our prom at Lava Springs?" Gabriella asked as she carried a bag filled with decorations out to the parking lot.

"Hello! I'm their little angel! Plus it's prom. They couldn't say no," Sharpay replied.

The girls giggled as they came to Mr. Baylor's car.

"Hey, girls," he greeted.

"Hey, Mr. Baylor," both girls said together.

"It's scary sometimes how you two can do that," Mr. Baylor admitted as he took the bags and placed them in the trunk of his car.

The girls giggled. They started to head back inside when Mr. Baylor grabbed Gabriella's arm.

"How you holding up, sweetie?" he whispered.

Gabriella shrugged. "Not as completely excited as I wish I could be but, ya know, I'm fine," she replied.

"Troy says you've been having nightmares again. You ok?"

"My therapist says it's cause of this big transition from high school to college."

Mr. Baylor nodded. "But you're sure you're ok."

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Mr. Baylor smiled and allowed Gabriella to run in after Sharpay. Why did he have a strange feeling something was going to go wrong?

-

"Wrong, Chad! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!"

Chad dropped the table where he was and it landed on his feet. He howled in pain and pulled his foot out from under the table leg. The table flipped over and knocked into a ladder. On top of the ladder was Taylor, who was hanging up decorations. The ladder fell, as did Taylor. As she fell, she pulled decorations down with her. Chad caught her but he lost his footing and both fell to the floor, causing even more decorations to fall down. The ladder had fallen and knocked into a speaker, causing it to fall forward. It, of course, broke.

"CHAD!"

"Way to go, Danforth!"

"What is wrong with you, you asshole!?"

"Mr. Martin, I will talk to you about that language later!" Mrs. Montgomery scolded as she rushed over to Chad and Taylor. Anthony Martin crossed his arms over his chest.

"Mr. Bolton, Mr. Baylor, could you two please pick up the speaker!"

Troy and Zeke nodded and, along with the help of some people around them, lifted the speaker up off the ground.

Some cheerleaders helped Taylor pick up the fallen decorations. One cheerleader, however, rolled her eyes and stormed over to Chad.

"You moron! You always mess everything up!" she screamed.

"Now, Jessie, no need to yell. It was an accident," Mrs. Montgomery said calmly.

"Yeah. Take a chill pill, Jess," Chad stated.

"Why don't you go take a smart pill!?" Jessie shouted.

"Oh good comeback," Chad said sarcastically before walking away.

Jessie shrieked loudly before stomping off.

Chad headed over to Troy and Zeke. "Can you believe that chick?" he asked, pointing over his shoulder at Jessie.

"She's a bitch. I think we covered that a while ago," Troy stated.

"Yeah. The girls pointed that out several times when she beat them for the spot on the cheerleading team back in freshman year," Zeke reminded.

"Wasn't it only Sharpay and Taylor who went out for the team?" Troy recalled.

"Oh yeah! Why didn't Gabi try out?" Chad questioned.

Zeke and Troy looked at Chad in utter disbelief.

"Please man! You are _not_ that stupid!" Troy exclaimed.

Chad thought for a second before a look of realization crossed his face. "Oh."

"Good job," Zeke said, patting Chad's head.

Chad swatted his hand away. "Hey! Sometimes I forget, ok? She's made so much progress, it's hard to remember that ever even happened," he defended.

"True. Sometimes it does seem like it never happened," Zeke agreed.

"If only that were true," Troy sighed.

"Dude, chill. She's fine, is she not?" Zeke questioned.

"Well, yeah. But still…she lost her parents. And there's nothing I can do to help that hurt heal, no matter what I do," Troy confessed.

"Psycho killer go bye bye! That enough to help heal hurt hurt! Gabi fine!" Chad said like Troy was stupid. Troy rolled his eyes.

Chad and Zeke laughed before getting back to work.

-

"And we are…DONE!"

Everyone cheered as the final touch was put on the hotel for the prom. Parents drove the students who had been at the school to the hotel once everything had been delivered there. Now, the senior class at East High stood in the party room that had been magically transformed into the perfect prom.

Mrs. Montgomery was standing on stage with a microphone, talking to the class. "Now, I'd like to thank Miss Sharpay Evans-" Sharpay walked onto stage and waved at everyone – "for allowing us to have our prom here. Is this place not amazing!?"

Everyone cheered.

"And I'd also like to thank Miss Jessie Williams-" Jessie rushed on stage and stood in front of Sharpay. Sharpay rolled her eyes and took a step over. – "for planning everything. Look at everything! It's incredible!"

People cheered again. Only it seemed louder. Even with Chad, Troy, Gabriella, Taylor, Zeke, Kelsi, Martha, Jason, and Ryan remaining silent.

"Now, I want everyone to go home and get a good night's sleep because tomorrow, you're going to have the time of your lives at East High's Class of '08 senior prom!"

Everyone screamed and cheered.

Sharpay and Jessie got off stage.

"Don't think that you'll be the one getting the crown tomorrow. Everyone knows it's gonna be me," Jessie stated.

"Oh, ok," Sharpay said sarcastically. "Keep dreaming, princess. You can't buy everything. And you're gonna learn that tomorrow night when I'm the one wearing that crown."

Jessie glared at Sharpay. Sharpay simply smirked and walked away.

"You told her, Shar!" Taylor exclaimed as Sharpay came over to the group.

"Yeah, well, not even Jessie Williams can ruin this night," Sharpay stated.

"No one can ruin this night!" Chad exclaimed.

Everyone cheered in agreement. Gabriella simply smiled. There was someone who could ruin this night. But he was locked away.

Right?

**dun dun dun!! lol! jk! so, Lynch has escaped, prom's underway, Mr. Baylor's worried, and Gabriella has absolutely no idea what's going on! lovely right? lol!  
well, i hope you enjoyed this chapter and PLEASE review!!**


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